Steady
by Lapinina
Summary: They were all so much like their elements.


_**Steady**_

**A/N** Something nice and quiet to get me in the mood for an assignment.

**Disclaimer:** Should we go over the list of things that are not in my ownership?

**Summary:** They were all so much like their elements.

**Rating: K+**

**Warnings: **The way I write is just not intended for kids.

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Kimiko tipped her head back so that the Sun shone down on it fully, turning the insides of her eyelids her favourite shade of red. The fiery star made her blood race to the tips of her fingers, as her _ki_ reached for and absorbed energy from its main source.

She felt like the child of the Sun sometimes, not her mother and father. Like the Sun had birthed her from her womb, burnt life into her, then set her here for safekeeping.

The Japanese girl's lips twitched at her old make-believe story from when she was little. Even then she'd felt the potential of fire burning inside her, contained by some invisible shield. _No more shield_. She full-out smiled.

Even without the literal meaning, she'd always felt she was like fire. Passionate, temperamental, consuming, uncontrollable. And like fire, as soon as she'd released all of her energy, she left behind nothing but clean and smooth surfaces. Having an emotional high always felt like release, how fire must feel after it's consumed its fill and burnt out.

They were all very much like their elements, she felt.

There was Raimundo, like a _kamikaze_, blowing through, then moving away, but never straying long. He was the wind, so loud and screeching at times, then silent and still at others.

There was Omi, this endless rush of energy, the _tsunami_, never ending it seemed, then quiet and calm like her father's _koi_ pond, barely a ripple to betray what was going on beneath the surface.

Finally, there was Clay.

Clay was his name, soft earth, yielding, but never dying away. He was his element, the earth, strong and reliable.

"Kimiko! Master Fong says he needs us to help the monks in the main hall." _Thinking of Clay._ It was kind of funny how he almost mispronounced her name, but always managed to get his American southern drawl to catch the second syllable.

"Ugh. He probably wants us to scrub it down again. The man has OCD, I'm sure of it." There was a chuckle from above her, and she heard Clay step in front of her. She opened her eyes to see his leather-gloved hand extended to help her up. She took it, and tried to rise to her feet, but too long in the Sun's heat had made her a bit light-headed.

She stumbled, and her platform shoes caught on the cobblestones of the temple pathway. She gave a screech as she fell, but two arms stopped the tumble. Kimiko found herself looking at Clay's blue shirt (which smelled like Texan dust), held up by the large American as if she was a child. "You alright there?" She blinked stupidly. "I don't right understand why you girls wear those damn high shoes when all you can do in them is fall over." She liked how he said it. Like the shoes were stupid, not her for wearing them.

"Well, at least they make me taller." She said brightly. _Okay, that was lame._ Clay looked at her blankly.

"I guess you are a bit on the short side Kimiko." She kind of liked how he said her name, the gentle roll over the "mi".

"Well, not all of us are giants Clay." It occurred to her that Clay was still supporting her and that the strap on her right shoe had broken. She pulled away a bit, and took off the shoes, holding them by the ankle straps.

Unfortunately for her, the summer heat made the stones hot away from the safety of her mat, and she jumped on it with a little squeak of pain. "_Itai." _She muttered. "The ground is hot." She muttered to Clay, and he laughed.

The next thing Kimiko knew, Clay had picked her up, cradling her, and started off back to the temple. Her face burned, in a way that had nothing to do with her inner fire.

"Umm . . . thanks." He continued to smile.

"Just helping a lady out." Her mouth betrayed her mind and smiled back. Such a typical Clay maneuver, to just carry her. He was like earth, strong. So like Clay to not even think of the stress carrying her this far would have on his muscles, to just act like a completely wonderful friend, even if she had shirked kitchen chores to come up here and sun. Come to think of it, Clay had probably had to do them.

"Did you have to do my kitchen stuff this morning?"

"Nah. Did a coin toss with Rai."

"I thought you had control over the Earth?"

"Yeah?"

"Isn't metal a part of the Earth?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, but don't go telling Rai that." She laughed, mostly at the thought of Rai's face he ever found out the cowboy had outsmarted him. " 'Sides, I had to get Rai to do the chores so I could come fetch you before Master Fong figured out that you'd wandered off." She smiled and her face burned again.

"Thanks Clay." He smiled at her.

Clay was always like that. Always keeping everything in an order between the four of them, or at least keeping her out of harm's way. That was Clay.

She put her arms on his shoulders, pressing her cheek to his chest, where she could hear his heartbeat. This was Clay.

_Steady._

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**A/N** A quick, easy little one-shot to get me going.

Muse: Are you ready for homework yet?

Would you just go away?


End file.
